Kurosaki Camping Trip
by ShadowSword524
Summary: The annual camping trip for the Kurosaki family, but add a Kuchiki and everything is different. Rated T for a slight suggestive theme.


Kurosaki Camping Trip

The beginning of summer break: a time of joy and freedom for students of all ages, except Ichigo Kurosaki. For Ichigo, the beginning of summer means the annual camping trip that his father, Ishiin, forces him and his sisters to go on every year. Summer freedom starts a week _**after**_ school ends for them. This year; however, there will be a whole new twist in the camping grounds. As an addition to the Kurosaki camping trip, Rukia Kuchiki will be joining the fun.

Ichigo was packing his bag with all the necessary equipment for camping. He packed hiking boots, heavy-duty jeans, warm clothes, and a sleeping bag. Rukia, who had ever been camping before, needed Ichigo's help on what to bring… and what not to bring.

"Ichigo, should I bring my notebook?" Rukia questioned.

"Sure, if you're planning on doing homework over summer break," Ichigo replied sarcastically.

"Oh… right. How about my soul pager?"

"I guess there could be hollows in the woods."

"Actually, I'll just leave it and take a break this week. Should I bring Kon's soul-pill?"

Ichigo sighed. "Not if we're not gonna fight hollows."

"Gotcha. How about –?"

"Rukia," Ichigo interrupted. "I gave you a list of everything you need. Anything else is optional and up to you."

Rukia scowled at Ichigo's attitude. He never wanted to help. But, she had everything she needed and then some. With that, they were all ready to go onward to the camping grounds.

XXX

They reached the camping site; a scenic place with a lake surrounded by tall trees. Birds flew through the shy, and their chirps could be heard echoing through the woods. In the lake, fishing were constantly jumping out of the water and splashing back in. There was a small boat tied up near the edge of the water meant for fishing. The air was cool and crisp, making every breath pure. The place to put up the tent was a spot where the dirt was firm enough for support, but did not contain any sharp rocks that would protrude and cause discomfort while they all slept. There seemed to be many paths to walk or hike along, and there was a fire pit perfect for cooking marshmallows. As Rukia observed this natural beauty, she began to wonder why Ichigo dreaded this place so much. This place was beautiful; no one could hate this peaceful setting. Rukia felt compelled to ask Ichigo why he disliked this place.

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled, while running over to the orange-haired teen that was currently setting up a tent.

"Yea?" was his curt reply.

"I want to know, why do you hate this place so much?"

"Hmm? No, no I don't hate this place at all. It's _**that**_ I can't stand about this trip." Ichigo said motioning over to his father, who was currently in the middle of the lake, standing on a sinking boat, and screaming for Ichigo to dive in and save him.

"Oh," Rukia said, stifling a laugh.

"Yea. He's going to be like that all week, 'that' meaning worse than he is at home."

Rukia was beginning to understand why Ichigo disliked this annual trip, but all she said was 'you shouldn't talk about your father that way.' Then she walked away to enjoy the camping experience.

Rukia sat down by the lake, preparing to take her first crack at fishing. To tell the truth, in Rukongai, her and Renji became very good at catching fish with their hands. Fishing with a rod; on the other hand, was a whole new ball game. The idea seemed simple enough, but Rukia would soon find out that there was more to fishing than just sitting motionless.

After about ten minutes with no fish, Rukia yelled for Ichigo to come over and help her. Ichigo slowly approached, and immediately saw a million problems. Ichigo sighed, and sat down beside Rukia. He took the rod from her, and he pulled the fishing box, which she apparently hadn't opened, next to him. First he showed Rukia to attach weights and bobbers to the string. Then he pulled out a Styrofoam cup. Rukia peered into the cup and saw nothing but dirt. Confused, Rukia looked at Ichigo. Ichigo rolled his eyes, then reached his fingers into the dirt and pulled out a worm. Rukia squealed and hid behind Ichigo's back.

"That's disgusting! Why do we need that?" Rukia screamed.

"It's the bait for the fish," Ichigo explained.

"Bait?"

"To get the fish to bite on the hook, you use the bait, the worm, to entice them in. Fish eat worms. When they bite the worm, they bite the hook. Then you yank on the pole to secure the hook into the fish's lip. Once that's done, you reel in the string, continuing to yank every once in a while. Finally, when the fish is close enough, you make one, final yank to bring the fish over the surface."

"How do you know when the fish is biting the worm?"

"The fish will try to take the worm deeper, and the bobber on the string will sink under the water. The pole will also bend a little."

"Ohhh… Okay, let me try."

"Nope. I'm gonna show you once first."

Ichigo put the worm on the hook, and cast the line out into the lake. He watched the pole patiently and silently, and Rukia watched him. It seemed like ages. Years passed without a word spoken. Rukia was just about to explode, when Ichigo looked up as the pole bent. A slight smirk appeared o his face as Rukia became excited. Ichigo yanked the rod, and reeled in the string. He continued this pattern, until splashes came near the surface. Ichigo pulled his arms to his side, and yanked as hard as he could. Rukia laughed as a fish appeared in the air before them, wriggling for freedom. It was a decent sized bass that stretched from his wrist to his elbow. Ichigo threw the bass into the water bucket for storing the day's catch. Ichigo stood up, and handed the rod to Rukia. Ichigo then walked off to where his father was trying to start a fire with gasoline and a firecracker.

Rukia put a new worm on the hook, which she still thought was gross, and sat on the ground. This was still taking forever, but patience worked for Ichigo, so it would work for her too. When her rod twitched, she reeled it in to find a pathetic fish, not even as big as her hand. Ichigo had told her not to keep any that were too small, so she threw it back into the water. She repeated the previous process many times, but still only managed to catch small fish. Every now and then, Karin or Ichigo would pick up a second rod, and catch the same sized fish as Ichigo had done earlier. _Stupid Kurosaki's, they must be blessed fisherman or something,_ Rukia cursed. She would not give up! Suddenly, Rukia felt a massive tug on her rod. Rukia began yanking and reeling, but to no avail. This fish was putting up a fight. Rukia stood up, and tried to drag the fish out of the water, but got a taste of her own medicine as she was pulled in to the lake herself. Rukia popped her head over the surface; she could still stand on the lake floor, and grabbed the floating string next to her. She pulled on the string, but could not make the fish surrender. Finally, she decided to follow the string to the fish and wrestle it down with her hands, like she was used to doing. She dove under the surface, with one hand on the string, and followed it to her prey. When she got to the end of the line, she shot up from the water. She glared down at Ichigo, who had his hand wrapped around the string, just before the hook, pulling on the string. He got out and started to laugh at her.

"I hate fishing," Rukia said.

Bedding arrangements were another point of discussion for the Kurosaki's plus one Kuchiki. They had one large tent, that could hold three people, and one smaller tent meant for two. The logical choice was to have Ishiin and Ichigo in the small tent, and the girls in the large one. However, it was not to be as Ishiin wanted to be able to protect his little Yuzu and Karin from bears and wolves that might attack the tents, and on top of that Ichigo was opposed in all ways to sleeping in the same tent as his father. Therefore, the only two left for the smaller tent were Ichigo and Rukia.

Ichigo lied awake in his large, bright orange sleeping bag, next to a wide awake Rukia, who was in her tiny, amethyst one. They lied there in silence, wondering if they should speak. Finally, Rukia broke the silence.

"So," Rukia said.

"So…" Ichigo replied.

"Camping's fun."

"Yep… How do you like the tent?"

"Better than your closet."

"What's wrong with my closet?"

"It's dirty, small and cramped. Not to mention all the things I find in there."

"What! What have you found in there?"

"Nothing, but I'm definitely gonna look now."

Ichigo blushed and turned away from Rukia. He heard her snickering behind him.

"I don't see how a midget like you could be cramped in a closet, no matter how small."

Ichigo felt a shadow appear over him. He looked up and Rukia glaring down at him. Ichigo sweat dropped. She usually just retorted with a 'strawberry' insult, but due to his little fishing stunt, she was on edge. He was either about to be in a lot of pain, or be beaten until he couldn't feel the pain. Rukia bent over him, and grabbed his collar. She was about to raise a fist to hit him, but she stopped when she heard snickering from outside the tent. She turned to see two shadows pressed against the tent.

"What are you two doin' in there?" Ishiin's voice called out, but the shadow received a punch from Rukia. The two shadows scurried back to their tent. Rukia turned back to Ichigo, and then she got back in her own sleeping bag.

Ichigo sighed from relief, for once his dad had come in handy. Then he grabbed his head when it suddenly started to throb, Ichigo turned to Rukia.

"Almost forgot," Rukia smirked.

A week had finally passed, and it was time to return to Karakura town. The trip had been successful, in the end. Rukia had caught a fish big enough to keep. Ishiin learned to build a fire the normal way. Ishiin and Yuzu both had left Ichigo and Rukia's tent alone for the last half of the week, freeing Ichigo and Rukia to _talk_ freely. Ichigo had woken up in a good mood, when he saw a midget in his sleeping bag with him. Alas, they Kurosaki's plus a Kuchiki packed up the car and returned home. They were all relieved to sleep in their own beds, or closet, as the situation may be. When Ichigo looked back, he thought maybe an annual camping trip wouldn't be so bad from now on.


End file.
